Cranberry. Cranberry is another one of those flavors that brings out very distinct memories for me. Thanksgiving at my grandmother’s house, not for the cranberry sauce (which I loathe), but for the cranberry juice she always had on hand. I loved it! And she’d mix it with a bit of ginger ale for me and oh, I felt so grown up…my first cocktail! Virgin, of course. We lost her the year I started college, so every time I taste anything with cranberry, I think of her. Then growing up, my mom taught me how to make this delicious cranberry-orange bread with fresh cranberries, and that bread is why I always have cranberries in my freezer. I made it for my in-laws the first Christmas after the wedding and now they look forward to it every year. Maybe after I’ve tried this straight I’ll need to try it with some orange juice. But cranberry is a flavor very near and dear to my heart, so I am very much looking forward to trying this one. The health benefits of cranberries aren’t such a bad thing either, and since I don’t drink juice anymore, this might be a good way for me to get them (found here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/cranberry-matcha.html).

This blew my socks off. The scent when the package is opened is a sweet cranberry, not the tart berry I was looking for, but I can’t bring myself to complain. I put about a quarter of a teaspoon in a small mug, added about 75-80 C water, some sugar, and frothed it up. Then I added robots (by which I mean ice in the shape of robots) and a touch of cold water to make a beautiful iced tea. I am so far from disappointed it hurts. This is lovely. I didn’t expect to like this one nearly as much as I do, but I am in love. I’m definitely seeing the berry in cranberry, but there’s also a hint of tartness in the middle of the sip. I am so surprised, I honestly didn’t expect to be wowed by this. But I am and I am going to restock on it ASAP. I can’t wait to try it blended with some vanilla matcha or some orange juice…yum. I don’t have a lot of experience with cranberry outside of the little fruits baked into muffins, but I think I need to branch out and try some new things!

New label as of May, 2015: Diabetic. I’m using tea to satisfy my sweet tooth cravings and keep me hydrated without hurting my system or messing with my blood sugar.

Ah, tea. My love for you is ever changing. At my last update, I was all about the rooibos and now I hardly drink it. I only occasionally had an oolong and now I have one just about every day. I’ve learned the art of resteeping and coldbrewing and kombucha. I have a lovely little tea pet named…well, I haven’t decided on a name for him yet. I also have five! live pets, a tabby cat named Rosabella Francis (Bella for short), a ginger cat named Orange Julius Pekoe (Pekoe), a white and grey cat named Earl Jean Grey (Earlie), a tuxedo cat (and the only boy in the house) Prince Erik Darien Darjeeling (JiJi) and a red foot tortoise named Da Hong Pao (Pao). So if you see me referring to my girls, I don’t have kids, just animals.

As for tea, I love oolongs, herbals, and black tea. Since I am no longer working, I no longer feel the constant need for a mate energy boost, though I do still reach for it from time to time. I also drink less matcha, though I do throw a spoonful or two in when I’m making smoothies. Most of my tea I drink coldbrewed, and since I discovered coldbrewed rooibos was giving me headaches, I’m drinking less and less of it. Straight pu-erh is not a thing I enjoy, but there are a few flavored blends I like. Greens are still too finicky for me to bother with hot, but they make great cold brews.

I am by no means a tea purist. I greatly enjoy flavored teas and I put stevia in all of my teas. It’s just how I do.

I think I’m going to name my tea pet Mr. Turtle. Even though he’s a tortoise.